Teach English in KAngle Zhen - Chongqing

English as a Global Language Upon my arrival in Asia to teach English, I was under the distinct impression that the students of korea were learning English in order to communicate with the Western, native-English, speaking world. No doubt that the history of western leadership for the past hundreds of years motivates many to learn English for this reason. Many of the most influential countries in the world are English speaking. And since I was generally surrounded my koreans and native speaking teachers, I had no reason to believe otherwise. But, after being here for about a year, I was in a room with my korean employer and another coworker?s friend from Taiwan. He didn?t speak Taiwanese and she didn?t speak korean. So, they were communicating in the common language they both did know, which was English. That realization gave me a whole new outlook on the English language, as a global language. This was not something that was planned. But rather, the English language has evolved from the need to work with other international organizations, the rise of travel and the emphasis on education in the world. Whether one agrees with the history of British and American influence in the world, it is still our history. With this, many of our international governing bodies have been initiated by one of these powers. Counties that have a desire to deal with these countries have had a need to learn English, starting centuries ago. That has left many international organizations with a need to use English as a common language. Just a few examples of this would be the United Nations, European Union, International Olympic Committee as well as international aerial and maritime communications. Simply from an efficiency standpoint, it is great that we have one common language to refer to. In addition to official international communications, people need a common language for something as simple as travel. So many L2 speakers that I know use English, not to travel to a western country, but to travel to other Asian countries. There is such a push for the Eastern Asian countries to learn English that they use the language in order to communicate. It?s much more universal than learning each other?s language. A korean person who knows chinese could go to china, but have difficulty in Japan. But, since many educated people in all three countries can speak English, travel between them is much easier. Finally, from an education standpoint, English has been very influential. Of the top 50 universities, as ranked by the QS World University Rankings of 2010, more than 35 were from english speaking countries. In fact, 19 of the top 20 were from english speaking countries. It?s no question that authors of the best text books, essays, scientific discoveries and studies, literature, and other findings are from these universities. For that reason, someone who can understand these written English books is going to be at a great advantage academically. If they are at fluency where they can attend these universities, it?s even better still. Even authors from non-native speaking countries are more likely to have their work published and translated if it is written in English. In addition to the publishing industry coming from english speaking countries, this fact comes from an economic standpoint. By sheer numbers, whether L1 or L2, there are a greater number of English speakers than any other language. So, something that has such a wide possibility of readers will have a greater chance of being read. Something that is more widely read in its first published language is more likely to also be translated into other languages. I feel very fortunate to be a native speaker of English. Whether it be for reasons of international relations, travel or education, it?s great that we have a common language in the world. It?s great that our language has become so useful to so many people. And, it?s great that we can share our culture so easily through our language. I?m excited to be a part of educating the world in our language and giving them the opportunities that have been afforded to me. References: Wikipedia new york Times English as a Global Language, by David Crystal Centre for Economic Policy Research (www.cepr.org)